Tangled tale of Taser, elk and ingenuity

The Linn County Sheriff’s Office received a call about 12:30 p.m. Thursday about a bull elk that had become entangled in a barbed wire fence near Harrisburg. The elk’s antlers were wrapped in the wire, and its head was pinned in place.

A sheriff’s deputy and an Oregon State Police trooper responded, but were unsure how to free the elk.

They contacted the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and everyone agreed it would take too long for a wildlife official to reach the scene to tranquilize the animal.

So the deputy and trooper went to Plan B: The deputy used a Taser stun gun on the animal for an estimated 25 seconds, while the trooper cut it free.

The animal then ran off, without any sign of injuries, according to a sheriff’s office press release. Sheriff supervisors did not return a call seeking further comment Thursday night.

The deputy and trooper “used a little common sense to try to find a way to save the animal without putting it down,” said a dispatch clerk who declined to give her name. “They thought it would work, and it did.”